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This image has been sourced from online.
y separately published work icon So Much to Tell You single work   novel   young adult  
Issue Details: First known date: 1987... 1987 So Much to Tell You
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Fourteen year old Marina does not speak, and has not done so for some time. As the story starts, we do not know the reasons why, or for how long. Only that on her release from hospital she was sent to Warrington Boarding School. Soon after term begins, her English teacher gives her class the task of keeping a journal. It is through Marina's entries in this journal, that we learn some of her history. During a fight between her parents, she was accidentally scarred by some acid thrown by her father but intended for her mother. It was this event that brought on her mutism and withdrawal into herself. Gradually, Marina starts to open up, both in her journal entries and in her interactions with others, slowly, slowly, slowly recovering from her traumas, and cultivating the beginnings of new friendships.' (Source: Bookshelf)

Adaptations

y separately published work icon So Much to Tell You : The Play : A Performance Version John Marsden , Montville : Walter McVitty Books , 1994 Z229493 1994 single work drama young adult

Notes

  • Parallel story to Take My Word for It: Lisa's Journal.

Affiliation Notes

  • This work is affiliated with the AustLit subset Asian-Australian Children's Literature and Publishing because it has Japanese and Korean translations.

    Writing Disability in Australia:

    Type of disability Selective mutism.
    Type of character Primary.
    Point of view First person.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Glebe, Glebe - Leichhardt - Balmain area, Sydney Inner West, Sydney, New South Wales,: Walter McVitty Books , 1987 .
      image of person or book cover 7763627341902554443.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 109p.
      ISBN: 0949183121
    • Boston, Massachusetts,
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      Joy Street Books ,
      1989 .
      image of person or book cover 5990848391994800139.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 117p.
      Edition info: First U.S. edition.
      ISBN: 0316548774
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Julia MacRae Books ,
      1989 .
      image of person or book cover 8829945967167743895.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 109p.
      ISBN: 0862033861
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Walker Books [London] ,
      1990 .
      image of person or book cover 7229612941476200707.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 109p.
      ISBN: 0744514495
    • Montville, Nambour area, Nambour - Palmwoods - Yandina area, Sunshine Coast Hinterland, South East Queensland, Queensland,: Walter McVitty Books , 1995 .
      image of person or book cover 83581108188073253.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 109p.
      Reprinted: 1998
      ISBN: 094918313X (pbk.)
    • Port Melbourne, South Melbourne - Port Melbourne area, Melbourne - Inner South, Melbourne, Victoria,: Lothian , 1997 .
      image of person or book cover 1520568662629540795.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 141p.
      Reprinted: 1998 , 1999
      ISBN: 085091941X (pbk.)
    • Sydney, New South Wales,: Hachette , 2012 .
      image of person or book cover 6202091567840736175.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 144p.
      Note/s:
      • Published: 31st July 2012
      ISBN: 9780734413291
Alternative title: Ik heb je zoveel te vertellen
Language: Dutch
    • Hasselt,
      c
      Netherlands,
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Clavis ,
      1990 .
      image of person or book cover 4216403885202287824.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 127p.
      ISBN: 9068220810

Other Formats

  • Braille.
  • Sound recording.

Works about this Work

John Marsden's Comments About Bullying Are Downright Dangerous - Young Adult Fiction Writers Should Know Better Claire Zorn , 2019 single work column
— Appears in: ABC News [Online] , July 2019;
Young adult fiction author, Clair Zorn, comments on an interview with John Marsden about his publication The Art of Growing Up, the impact of bullying on teenagers and the responsibility of authors to their readers.
Faces and Fears : The Search for Identity in So Much to Tell You John Noell Moore , 2011 single work criticism
— Appears in: John Marsden : Darkness, Shadow, and Light 2011; (p. 15-28)
A Response to 'So Much to Tell You' by John Marsden Brad Gauci , 2000 single work prose
— Appears in: Viewpoint : On Books for Young Adults , Summer vol. 8 no. 4 2000; (p. 39)
Elective Mutes in Four Contemporary Books for Children Carlisle Sheridan , 1999 single work criticism
— Appears in: Something to Crow About : New Perspectives in Literature for Young People 1999; (p. 171-178)
This work examines which literary techniques an author uses in their works for children to establish character traits when their main character is an elective mute.
John Marsden : 'Fighting On' John Foster , 1997 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Adolescent Novel : Australian Perspectives 1997; (p. 173-182)
[Review] So Much to Tell You Jo Goodman , 1988 single work review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , March vol. 3 no. 1 1988; (p. 30)

— Review of So Much to Tell You John Marsden , 1987 single work novel
Teenagers : Irish Stew and Light Desserts Agnes Nieuwenhuizen , 1988 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 11 June, 1988; (p. 11)

— Review of The Blooding Nadia Wheatley , 1987 single work novel ; So Much to Tell You John Marsden , 1987 single work novel
First-Time Storyteller Makes the Big Time Margaret Aitken , 1988 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 20 August 1988;

— Review of So Much to Tell You John Marsden , 1987 single work novel ; Crusher is Coming! Bob Graham , 1987 single work picture book ; My Place : The Story of Australia from Now to Then Nadia Wheatley , Donna Rawlins , 1987 single work picture book ; Deezle Boy Eleanor Spence , 1987 single work novel ; The Long Red Scarf Nette Hilton , 1987 single work picture book ; Where the Forest Meets the Sea Jeannie Baker , 1987 single work picture book
Nude Boy in Cover-Up Mark Macleod , 1988 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 2-3 April 1988;

— Review of Where the Forest Meets the Sea Jeannie Baker , 1987 single work picture book ; So Much to Tell You John Marsden , 1987 single work novel ; Pheasant and Kingfisher Catherine H. Berndt , 1987 single work picture book ; The Long Red Scarf Nette Hilton , 1987 single work picture book ; The Landing : A Night of Birds Katherine Scholes , 1987 single work children's fiction ; Deezle Boy Eleanor Spence , 1987 single work novel ; My Place : The Story of Australia from Now to Then Nadia Wheatley , Donna Rawlins , 1987 single work picture book ; Digging to China Donna Rawlins , 1988 single work picture book ; Obernewtyn Isobelle Carmody , 1987 single work novel ; A Paddock of Poems Max Fatchen , 1987 selected work poetry ; Looking Out For Sampson Libby Hathorn , 1987 single work children's fiction ; The Makers Victor Kelleher , 1987 single work novel ; Birk, the Berserker Robin Klein , 1987 single work children's fiction ; Tucking Mummy In Morag Loh , 1987 single work picture book
Exploring Problems of Youth Laurie Copping , 1988 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 20 August 1988;

— Review of So Much to Tell You John Marsden , 1987 single work novel ; Deezle Boy Eleanor Spence , 1987 single work novel
Know the Author : John Marsden Agnes Nieuwenhuizen , 1989 single work column
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , May vol. 4 no. 2 1989; (p. 20-22)
Elective Mutes in Four Contemporary Books for Children Carlisle Sheridan , 1999 single work criticism
— Appears in: Something to Crow About : New Perspectives in Literature for Young People 1999; (p. 171-178)
This work examines which literary techniques an author uses in their works for children to establish character traits when their main character is an elective mute.
Young Adult Fiction Rules - O.K? So Where's the Young Adult Poetry? John Gough , 1990 single work column
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , September vol. 5 no. 4 1990; (p. 5-9)
Novel Teachers : The Image of Teachers in Australian Children's Literature Mary Durrington , 1994 single work criticism
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , September vol. 9 no. 4 1994; (p. 5-8)
Publishing for Children in Australia: A Thriving Industry Walter McVitty , 1990 single work criticism
— Appears in: Children's Literature Association Quarterly , vol. 15 no. 4 1990; (p. 167-171)
McVitty describes 'aspects of the children's book scene in Australia' which includes literature and publishing - especially for children - in Australia' (167). He briefly discusses bookshops, general and professional interest, awards, the Children's Book Council of Australia, school magazines, book clubs, Bologna and overseas markets, and publishing. He includes the shortlists for the 1990 Children's Book of the Year Awards (Older Readers, Younger Readers and Picture Books) and directly refers to John Marsden's So Much to Tell You and Possum Magic (Mem Fox) as examples of successful Australian works for children. He believes that while it is still relatively small, Australian children's literature is a healthy, thriving industry with continuing opportunities to expand within national and international consumer markets.
Last amended 17 Jun 2021 16:04:45
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